The present invention generally relates to a device for coupling a cover to a box of a vehicle having an open cargo area. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tonneau cover bumper mounted on a cargo carrying vehicle.
Vehicles such as pick-up trucks having an open cargo area are useful for transporting a wide variety of cargo. However, cargo transported in this type of vehicle is susceptible to environment exposure. Therefore, various tops, caps and tonneau covers have been designed to cover the cargo area and limit the ingress of rain, sleet, snow and the like. In addition, the aforementioned covers prevent egress of cargo as the vehicle is being operated.
An example of one such tonneau cover includes a pair of hard panels pivotally interconnected by a transversely extending hinge. In their closed positions, the panels lie flat on top of a pair of vertical sidewalls defining the cargo area. In other examples, the tonneau cover consists of a plurality of panels folding in a manner similar to an accordion, stackable one against the other. However, existing tonneau covers are not without their disadvantages. One disadvantage relates to the difficulty of providing a latching mechanism to releasably couple the tonneau cover to the vehicle in a manner that will not damage the tonneau cover or the vehicle while restricting movement of the cover relative to the vehicle. Specifically, the structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,491 to Steffens et al. aligns and latches the cover with the vehicle but does not provide any biasing force or energy damping function. Accordingly, the cover is allowed to repeatedly impact upon the vehicle sidewalls as the vehicle is operated. Other structures rigidly interconnect the cover and the vehicle sidewall such that loads generated from a rough road transmit through the cover into the vehicle thereby reducing the structural durability of one or both of the components.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tonneau cover bumper adaptable for use with new or existing vehicles and securable to the vehicle body to align the tonneau cover relative to the vehicle sidewalls.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tonneau cover bumper to dissipate energy transmitted from the road through the vehicle thereby increasing structural durability of the tonneau cover and the vehicle.
The present invention includes a bumper for a motor vehicle having a tonneau cover moveable from an opened position to a closed position. The bumper includes an annular body having an inner surface and an outer surface where the inner surface defines a bore. The bumper also includes a rib extending from a first position on the inner surface to a second position on the inner surface within the bore. The bumper is adapted to be mounted to the vehicle and positioned between the tonneau cover and the vehicle when the tonneau cover is in the closed position.
Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from consideration of the following description and appended claims, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.